USU’s UCC helps Hurricane Sandy efforts
More than two months after Hurricane Sandy hit the East Coast in October 2012, students of USU answered the call for help.
Twice.
Twelve AmeriCorps members from USU arrived in New Jersey on Monday to aid in relief efforts. The crew was the second to be sent by the Utah Conservation Corps to begin service in a variety of capacities including debris removal, demolition and coordinating volunteers.
“It’s an all-star crew,” said Kate Stephens, program director for the UCC. She said the team consists of people who completed a UCC program training and did an excellent job.
“We need to have people out there who are pretty self-directed, flexible and can handle the stress of an emergency response situation,” Stephens said.
Stephens said about half the members in the group are returning volunteers from the first team who wanted to go back.
“It was probably the hardest thing that they had ever done in their lives,” Stephens said. “Really, really tough work, crazy hours, physically demanding, but it was also incredibly rewarding. There was so much gratitude and also individuals who were just so thankful for the help that they were offering.”
Tim Spenser was one of the volunteers who went last November. He said his days began with 4 a.m. shifts at the shelters.
“There was a lot of running around,” Spenser said. “The best part of it was getting to be in a place where people from all over the country come together to be a part of something to serve others.”
On-site supervisor Tim Carroll said this trip will be similar to the previous one, except the shelters they had been working at are now closed because hurricane refugees in the East Coast are returning to their homes.
“Most of the operations are going to be focused on gutting people’s homes,” Carroll said. “Basically, demolition will be our main mission this time around.”
With the cold weather conditions, the crew will center on getting heat and electricity restored to houses so residents can return to normal living conditions.
“It just takes time,” Carroll said. “We pretty much have to go one house at a time. It’s just a long process.”
Carroll said there is still a lot of work to be done since the last trip to New York and thinks the damage in New Jersey will be a lot more widespread.
“It just looked devastating,” Carroll said. “Whole neighborhoods were destroyed.”
Spenser said he had never seen hurricane aftermath until he went on the trip.
“It was definitely a shock,” Spenser said. He said a lot of buildings were affected right down to the foundations.
“That was wild to see,” he said.
Disaster response is not the UCC’s usual emphasis, Stephens said. The organization is mainly geared toward partnering with land management agencies and nonprofits.
“Utah Conservation Corps is open to students,” Stephens said. “We give priority to students to serve as AmeriCorps members.”
Stephens said spring positions are open beginning the end of February and summer openings starting in May in the American Southwest.
“They serve in teams of four and do restoration work – for example, Russian olive removal and revegetation,” Stephens said.
Russian olive is an invasive plant species, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture website.
Stephens said UCC members participate in a lot of backcountry work.
“They’re living out of a tent for the whole summer and in really incredibly beautiful places,” she said.
Students can also apply for an alternative spring break trip to the Grand Staircase-Escalante National Monument in Bryce Canyon. The trip includes Russian olive removal and a backpack trip into the lesser known areas of the monument, Stephens said.
Summer UCC members also have the opportunity to receive USU credit through an ENVS course that focuses on land management and sustainability. Stephens said it helps students who are looking to obtain jobs with federal land management agencies.
“It’s a great foot in the door,” Stephens said. “It’s a great opportunity to get some hands-on experience and work with a variety of land management agencies. I think all UCC members come away from the summer changed and feeling a greater connection to Utah public lands.”
Students who are interested in joining the UCC can visit their link on the USU website or drop by their offices in TSC 318.
– tmera.bradley@aggiemail.usu.edu
Twitter: @TmeraBradley